Music |
Josh Ritter: Marathon Man
By
Published: Jan 01, 2006
Category:
Rock
Josh Ritter
On November 5, 2006, Josh Ritter earned a squib in the Guinness Book of World Records. In the morning and early afternoon, he ran the New York Marathon; at 8 PM, he gave a solo acoustic concert for two hundred fans at a downtown club. And the only performer ever to schedule a performance after running 26.2 miles did not just go through the motions. He wanted to finish the marathon in four hours; he came in at 3:54:46. And his concert was a total smash.
As veteran Head Butler readers know, Josh Ritter is a poster child for this site — a great talent who produces real art and deserves to be better known. I’ve written about him several times (here and here). Many of you have paid attention: T. flew from Lake Tahoe, California to Portland, Oregon to see Josh in a tiny club. A diplomat took a group to see him in Brussels. And many of you have gone up to Josh after concerts to say, “Head Butler sent me.” So when Josh came to New York for the marathon/concert, it seemed like a good time for us to meet.
In person, Josh Ritter is exactly the guy you see on stage: happy, smart, interested. He looks a bit like Wally Cleaver, the older brother on the ancient TV sitcom, “Leave It to Beaver.” Onstage, he can be charmingly awkward between songs, gathering his thoughts like an even more tentative Warren Beatty. In conversation, he couldn’t be more articulate.
JK: Why run a marathon?
JR: I had two goals for the year: run the New York Marathon and start writing a book. I figured the marathon would be easier — and I was right. I do write, but only an hour a day.
JK: Do you listen to anything while you train?
JR: I use an iPod — mostly for audio books.
JK: Books! What books?
JR: Right now, books about Shakespeare and biographies of American Presidents. Before that, Muriel Spark. Sometimes, near the end of a run, I’ll listen to music.
JK: You’re touring. How regularly can you train?
JR: I’ve been on the road for 18 months. That’s a huge blessing — all you have is time. I need an hour or two to cool my head before I get in the van and go to the show. Sure, I could watch episodes of ‘Family Guy’ — but if I’m not reading, I’m not filling up with ideas.
JK: And how quickly do those ideas empty out?
JR: I write songs quickly and rewrite quickly — it’s one long revision until it’s done. If I hit a perfect verse, I circle it and move on.
JK: How thick is your notebook?
JR: I have tons of songs with nowhere to go — I could fill two CDs with misfits.
JK: Misfits?
JR: In one song, a different person dies per verse. In another, two people who work in a missile silo fall in love.
JK: What do you learn from Presidential biographies?
JR: Many Presidents just weren’t that good, and they did no good. Think about Van Buren, Polk and Andrew Johnson. And Bush — he will be forgotten for everything but the war. Now we’re trying to define a new century (as Teddy Roosevelt did for the last). So I’m looking for someone inspiring.
JK (laughs): And yet you don’t go out of your way to write “inspiring” songs.
JR: I don’t believe a song can change the world. That’s too much pressure to put on a piece of art — it has to work too hard, it gets distorted. My songs may help one or two people. I know they help me. I’m optimistic because I can figure out my own life. The songs enable me to do that.
JK: No desire to be a star?
JR: No! No! That’s why John Prine is a hero to me. He just writes and writes. And his songs sound handmade.
JK: Why am I sure that your music collection is eclectic?
JR: Let’s see…Stephane Grappelli, Mississippi John Hurt, Aphex Twin…
JK: Aphex Twin?
JR: It’s great ambient music. Try the ‘Richard D. James Album.’
JK: What about movies?
JR: I’ve spent a lot of the last year watching classic American Westerns. ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence.’ ‘Magnificent Seven.’
JK: Any interest in acting?
JR: I’d love to act! I like to think it’s the same as performing: You do your thing like nobody’s looking.
JK: Do you feel guilty when you write a song in, say, 20 minutes — and people love it?
JR: Some of my favorite songs are written in 20 minutes: ‘Idaho’ and “Best for the Best’. It’s like I’d written them already, like they were in the next room, just waiting. I write one of those, and I’m elated for next two weeks — it’s like standing at half court and swishing.
JK: And running and singing on the same day?
JR: That makes me feel like a 19th century huckster. It’s a cool little sales pitch.
But it was much more. Six hours after he crossed the finish line, Josh Ritter strolled on stage in a buttoned-up suit and a white shirt. The first thing he did was sit down. “I never perform sitting down," he explained. "But seated, the fall will be quicker.”
He did eleven songs. Acoustic. With lots of humor between them. (Sample: “I wanted to be a skateboarder, but I grew up on a gravel road.”) He sang most of “Animal Years” and he did “Snow is Gone (Hello, Starling)” and “Kathleen” — the songs that hard-core fans most want to hear. And he ended with an Irish tune that he sang, unaccompanied, so it sounded like a blessing.
Who is Josh Ritter? Dylan without the arrogance, Springsteen without the preaching. A choirboy, in a way. Cuddly. (I would imagine women want to take him home to….talk.) But make no mistake. He’s also remarkably disciplined. Extremely focused. Ambitious, though clearly for the music, not the money.
Bottom line: Set aside the overwhelming gifts — he’s major fun. “If chemical imbalance can make you depressed,” Karen said afterward, “can it also make you happy?” I’m not sure about the imbalance, but if so, Josh Ritter is Exhibit A.
To buy ‘Animal Years’ from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy ‘Golden Age of Radio’ from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy ‘4 Songs Live’ from Amazon.com, click here.
